Never Judge

Cedric was now fully intrigued by Miguel's words, what could be so shocking that hearing about it wouldn't be enough.

'Your Uncle Miguel's child survived. This is all I can tell you, but know that your cousin is doing well and is loved.'

"That's it?" Cedric asked as he flipped the paper. "How do you even know that this is true? It could be a hoax, the Chan family is quite well known and the story of your Uncle Miguel is no deep dark secret. People could have heard about it."

"We feel it's true because the person isn't asking for anything." Miguel said as he crossed his arms on his chest.

"And this is all this thing says?" Cedric asked as he handed the piece of paper back to Miguel.

"Yes, we brought it to a forensics lab after you went back to the office, they tested it for any hidden messages, there weren't any." Eric said with a shrug.

"You want to look for this cousin, don't you?" Cedric asked as he glared at the brothers.

"Yes." Miguel said with a nod. We'd be fools not to look for our cousin.

"Did you ever think that this cousin of yours didn't even want to be found?" Cedric asked. "What if she is happily living his life and all of a sudden the two of you appear out of nowhere and drag her into the complicated world of the Chan family?"

"She deserves to at least have a choice. We thought she died Cedric, my parents and grandparents thought she died. They cannot reject their own flesh and blood." Eric told Cedric with a desperate tone.

"You cousin is a woman, you both know how restrictive your family gets with its female members." Cedric reminded them. 

"Cedric, what if she needs us? What if she needs our help?" Miguel asked.

"The note is clear Miguel, your cousin is loved. If she is happy why ruin it for her?" Cedric asked.

"It's not just for her." Miguel eventually admitted. "I want our family to realize that we almost lost this person and we need to do right by her. The Chans cannot remain stubborn and stick to tradition all the time. We almost lost Nicole because of how stubborn they are."

"Nicole wouldn't have run away." Cedric told Miguel. "She always puts family first."

"Ian is worth running away to her." Eric suddenly said. "Even you can see how much our sister loves your friend. She's more than willing to suffer the same fate as Uncle Miguel just to be with Ian. Miguel is right, the Chan family must change."

"So why are you showing me this?" Cedric asked even if he already knew the answer to his question.

"Aside from us wanting you to know, we need your help." Miguel admitted. "We don't have the same resources as you, we want to find whomever sent this document and ask him about our cousin." 

"Leon already tried." Cedric told the brothers. 

"Leon's contacts here are limited. Ace would probably be able to find the person." Eric told Cedric.

"Fine, I'll ask my cousin." Cedric said, surrendering to their request. "Can we go in for dinner now?" Cedric asked, he was quite hungry since he barely ate at lunch. 

When the boys arrived at the dining room Katerina glared at Miguel and Eric.

"What's wrong darling?" Eric asked as he placed an arm around her waist.

"What took you guys so long? I'm hungry." Katerina complained as she pushed her boyfriend's hand away.

"You could have started without us." Eric said as he planted a kiss on Katerina's cheek.

"Don't you dare try to sweet talk your way out of this, you know that it's only proper to wait for the head of the family." Katerina said as she rolled her eyes at Eric. 

"Did the two of you really have to talk to Cedric before dinner?" Veronica complained as Miguel placed a piece of steak on her plate.

"Yes. It couldn't wait." Miguel said simply.

"What's so urgent that it can't wait till after dinner?" Veronica asked her husband.

"It's a secret." Miguel said as he maintained his composure.

"Trust me on this V." Miguel said as he placed at piece of meat in her mouth.

"That won't work." Veronic grumbled after she swallowed. "By the way auntie, your chef is amazing!" Veronica said as she turned to speak to Ace's mother.

"Oh thank you Anna dear." Ace's mother said with a smile. "We brought our chef with us here from the Capital. She was more than willing to move with us."

"V, come on. Don't tell me you're taking Katerina's side on this. She thinks with her stomach." Miguel said as he held Veronica's hand under the table.

"She's gonna be your sister-in-law someday, don't be so mean to her." Veronica scolded as she continued to eat her food.

"Yes, yes, anything my queen wants." Miguel said as he kissed his wife on the cheek.

"I swear, you guys are all whipped husbands." Ace said as he looked at his cousin and his cousin's friends.

"When you find the right woman, I'm sure you'll end up just the same." Katerina said with a laugh.

"I'm not as silly as them." Ace said as he continued to eat.

After dinner everyone said goodnight and prepared to retire to their rooms.

"Ace, a word." Cedric said as his cousin began to stand from the table.

"Cousin, I didn't mean to make fun of you. I'm sorry." Ace said in a panic. He was worried that Cedric wanted to speak to him because of his teasing.

"No, don't worry. It has nothing to do with that." Cedric said with a laugh as he noticed how worried Ace was.

"I'll wait for you in our room." Adrianna told her husband as she went up with Katerina and Veronica.

"Let's talk in the office." Cedric told Ace as he walked to the home office. Miguel and Eric joined them as well.

"What's up?" Ace asked as soon as they entered the room.

"We have a job for you." Cedric said. "Give it to him." Cedric instructed Miguel who handed Ace the piece of paper from earlier.

"This was brought earlier today to the hospital where Miguel is affiliated. He saw a patient there yesterday." Cedric explained as Ace examined the document. "You can read it." Cedric said with a nod.

"What do you want me to do with it?" Ace asked as he read the message, his face was cold and showed no expression as he read it.

"Find the person who sent this." Cedric instructed his cousin.

"I'm sure your men can do this." Ace said as he attempted to give the document back to Miguel.

"Leon tried, but it seems like we are dealing with a professional here. I want you to see what you can do." Cedric instructed his cousin.

"If Leon can't find the person then this is going to be a challenge." As Ace spoke Cedric could practically see the gears turning in his head as he thought of a way to deal with Cedric's dilemma. "Don't worry, I'll put my best men on the job." Ace said with a nod.

"Another thing." Cedric said, stopping his cousin from leaving.

"What is it?" Ace asked.

"Tomorrow, take the day off. Show us around." Cedric said with a grin.